The Valisis
by SilverPhoenix-21
Summary: A strange, abused Irken is found on a newly conquered planet and latches himself on to Tallest Purple.
1. Flowers and Stones

A/N: This is another idea that popped into my head. It may take a while to make updates on this one as I'm still working on my other story, plus I'm going on vacation for a week so I doubt I'll get anything writtenduring that time.I thought I would get it started at least.

Disclaimer: Invader Zim is not owned by me.

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Tallest Purple clasped the armor to his forearms. They were going to make a landing on a newly conquered planet, not a very good one at that. Tallest Red decided it would be interesting to see things first hand. Purple was glad to finally get off the Massive, but he was wishing it could have been on somewhere more pleasant. 

As he prepared to leave, Purple wondered what they could even get out of this planet. It wasn't even conquered by an Invader, and the inhabitants weren't even native to it. They were pirates and smugglers who built a base of operations on a lifeless rock in the middle of nowhere. They were pushovers for the Irken fleet. The only positive thing Purple could see coming from this was a decrease in pirating and smuggling, which weren't very big issues facing the Irken Empire right now.

But Red insisted on going down there. Most likely, Purple suspected, he needed to terrorize someone and them cower in his mighty authority, because it wasn't fun doing so on the Massive anymore. The worker drones had learned very quickly when to avoid him.

Purple walked into the main lounging area of his room, which was furnished in with tall cabinets packed with books and other numerous items, a few sofas, a table, a desk, and various decorations including a few old paintings on the walls. At home, his room in the palace was much bigger than this. Sometimes he felt shut in by the small space. Another reason he wouldn't mind getting off the Massive for a while.

He made his way to the door, glancing up at one of the vintage paintings as he went. Almost every time he went in there, something drew his eyes to it. It was an original piece from long ago. The image was a collection of different species of flowers native to Irk. Each one was a different color, red, blue, purple, white, yellow, and pink, and was said to have its own special meaning. The painting had been a gift from an old friend when Purple first became Tallest. He treasured it because the friend that gave it to him died shortly afterward. Red didn't share the same feelings about it and the other paintings though, always telling him they weren't "that valuable" and that they "just took up wall space" whenever he got the chance. In spite of his bickering to get rid of them, Purple kept them where they were.

The Tallest headed out his door, saving the painting for his eyes another time. He didn't have to walk far down the hall to meet Red, who was waiting patiently. Purple was amazed. He hadn't come pounding on his door telling him to hurry up. Purple smiled at the other, a quick way of saying hello, and continued down the hall.

Red turned to his companion. "You know we've descended through the atmosphere already?"

"Yes, I was aware of the ship rattling," Purple said with sarcasm. He knew Red had to be impatient as always. It must have been encoded into his genes or something. Purple thought of slowing his pace just to get on Red's nerves. He knew falling behind would annoy him since Red seemed to make it a point to always walk right beside him. Purple didn't know exactly why Red had to have that way.

They saw a guard coming at them in the opposite direction. He stopped and saluted before them and then spoke. "My Tallest, we have found something down on the planet's surface."

There was a small settlement in that particular area. All the buildings were short and made from various stones. Irken guards and foot soldiers went about the streets, inspecting various structures and alleyways, capturing anyone that might have got away. The Tallest were lead to a tired looking old gray stone building near the edge of the small town. They had discovered an Irken being held prisoner there after the 'residents' had been seized. Though Purple was a little interested in who this person was, Red didn't seem as enthused and had an expression on his face that only Purple was capable of reading, one that said "why do I have to be here when there's some lowly life forms waiting to be terrorized?".

Red stopped in sight of the doorway and examined the building, which was beginning to fall apart from exposure to the elements. "So where is he?"

"The prisoner is in an underground cell. He won't seem to come out on his own," the guard answered nervously.

"Why?" Purple asked.

"We think he's afraid of us."

"So drag him out," Red snorted.

"No, I'll go see him first," Purple interrupted before Red could make the order official.

Purple was lead down the stairs to the musty lower levels of the building. Red was on his way to inspect the group of thieves and pirates that had been caught. Purple saw three soldiers loitering around an open door at the end of the hall.

The first thing he saw going into that room was a pair of violet eyes, much like his own, staring back at him. He had stopped upon entering the doorway. The Irken that the violet orbs belonged to was slouched against the wall. He was young and even though he had a considerable height, as far as Purple could tell, one wouldn't exactly notice it with the way he had himself folded up, as if he was trying to make himself shrink and look as small as possible. But those eyes were locked onto the Irken leader. Purple cringed. They looked pathetic and pleading, and they seemed to give no heed to the guards that accompanied the Tallest.

Purple stepped forward lightly. The young Irken pressed his back further against the wall. Purple thought he was trying to back away and failing miserably. The Tallest was now close enough so that his shadow covered the boy on the floor. He knelt to eye level with him. He realized this pitiful little creature had more damage done to him than he thought. There were bruises running down the thin bony arms accompanied with several scars. The skin on his face was also scarred, mainly above his eyes and on his cheeks. The right antennae was bent in an awkward way and his right arm had an odd shape near the elbow, as if it had once been broken. The rips and tears in his clothes, a loose fitting shirt and pants, didn't aid much more to his appearance. The only part of him that seemed healthy was his eyes. It was as if the life in his body had nowhere else to go.

Purple realized the youth was trembling. He looked scared but hopeful.

"Who are you?" Purple attempted at getting him to speak, but he remained quiet, his mouth moving ever so slightly, not even forming a readable word.

"Can you talk?" Purple tried again. The young Irken just kept staring at him, as if he didn't hear. Purple wondered if that was a possibility, judging by the damaged antennae. He decided to try something else. He extended his arm out toward the youth and slowly offered his hand. The abused Irken hesitated for a moment, but took Purple's hand with his own. Purple had thought it wouldn't be possible for him to have such a strong grip. He looked so thin and weak. But once he grasped him, it felt like he wasn't about to let go of the Tallest.

The trembling suddenly stopped. Purple was surprised to the smallest of smiles curl the lips of the boy. Purple offered a smile back and tried his luck at talking again. "Can you walk?"

This he seemed to understand because Purple found himself standing up slowly as the other rose shakily off the floor. The Tallest smiled reassuringly at him and gently placed his arm around his shoulder. He noticed that even the boy's pak was unable to escape the damage. It was scratched and dented. Whatever happened to this child was something that was very unpleasant. Purple lead him slowly to the door and into the world outside. All the while he never let go of Purple's hand.


	2. Kan

Hey I'm back! Finally! My time was getting tied up with finals to be done and everything. Oh well. But now with summer, I'll have a lot more time to work on stuff. Anyways, this chapter came out kind of short. I'll try to make the next one longer.

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The examination had gone well, at least for the medics. Tallest Purple thought he would lose the circulation in his arm if the strange Irken boy hold onto him any tighter. The foundling simply refused to let go of the Irken leader while the medics examined his health. Purple could see that the boy was deathly afraid of the doctors, but he wondered why. The Tallest was glad when they were told that the stranger seemed to be in adequate health except for the terrible scars on his body and his bent antennae. They were soon allowed to leave. He was starting to feel the boy's claws poke into his skin. 

Purple decided he wasn't going to get very far away from this kid, so he turned down the hall to the guest rooms that were a level below the Tallest's quarters. His original plan had been to send him to the Misplaced Persons Center back on Irk but now he was wondering if that was a good idea or not, or if it would even be possible. He didn't like the boy's behavior in the infirmary. He'd never seen anyone so afraid of something so common. The boy was tall enough that he could bury his face in Purple's shoulder whenever a doctor came near. It was possible that the boy was a defect but Purple thought that was unlikely. The medics would have given him that suggestion but they hadn't. No, there was genuine fear in the boy's eyes, and Purple thought there was also a glint that was close to sadness in them too. Something else was wrong, something that no one could yet explain, just like they couldn't explain the boy's lack of speech. Perhaps his scars and bruises were a dark clue. For a reason that he couldn't quite pinpoint, Purple knew it would be better to keep the boy close to him for a while, especially since he was the only one the adolescent seemed to trust.

The juvenile Irken finally decided it was safe enough to let go of his friend and was walking silently besides the violet Tallest. Purple could feel his hand again.

"You sure have quite a grip," Purple said flexing his fingers and smiling softly at the person walking next to him. He wasn't expecting a response and he wasn't surprised when he didn't get one. He looked ahead and continued their slow pace. The lack of noise almost made him uncomfortable. Even the Massive's ventilation shafts decided to stay quiet today. Purple was reminded of an old training mission before he had become Tallest. His team was on a practice reconnaissance mission against another team in the Alara Kan'e, the Silent Hills, deep in Irk's wilderness. That place was very well named. No animal cries, no wind blowing through trees-there were no trees. No sound at all, just a lot of rock and sand and silence…

That's when the idea hit him. He stopped walking and looked over at the boy, who returned his gaze. Purple smiled.

"Since you're going to be staying with us," Purple cringed slightly when he thought what Red's reaction would be, "we need something to call you," he said. "And since we don't know your name and you're not saying anything, we'll give you a new name. How about we call you Kan, for 'silent?'"

The boy stared blankly at him for a moment as if taking in all his words. Then he smiled.

"So you like it? Well then, that's your name now. Kan."

They continued down the hall until they came to the guest quarters. Purple led Kan into one of the rooms. "This will be your room," he said. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable, and I'll be back later." Purple smiled and turned to go but was quickly halted when Kan grabbed him by the shoulder. Purple expected he would do something like this. He was hoping he wouldn't have to stay for too long, he had other business to attend to, like finding out where in the world Red was so they could get the fleet back on its way again.

He turned around to face the shorter Irken and smiled as kindly as he could. "I have to go now. Don't worry, you'll be safe here. I just have to take care of a few things and then I'll come back," said Purple, a little desperate. Kan's eyes were so pleading, he had to look away. "Look, I promise I'll come back for you."

Kan lowered his eyes to the floor and breathed out a very faint whimper. Purple was a little taken aback. It was the first sound he had heard issued from the boy's mouth.

He studied Kan carefully. He looked scared and sad, and Purple had a feeling Kan knew he couldn't come along. He sighed. "Kan, from the way you're looking right now, I think you may have been abandoned before."

Purple blinked in surprise when Kan slowly shook his head, _no_. "No? You weren't abandoned? Then what happened to you?"

Kan cast his violet eyes back to the floor and drew his arms, folding them close to his body. What spark that had been in his eyes was slowly fading. Purple thought he saw tears forming.

"Kan," Purple started as he gently lifted Kan's chin with one skinny finger, "what ever happened to you in the past, it's over now. You're here with us and no one is going to hurt you. You'll be taken care of here."

Kan lifted his head once more and stared at Purple.

"I promise I'll come back soon." Purple grasped his shoulder gently, letting Kan know he was leaving, and he turned and went out the door.


End file.
